Trump Suggests Nuclear Testing, Media Forgets US History
AP News breathlessly reports on Trump's suggestion to restart nuclear weapons testing, framing it as an 'upending' of decades of US policy. They immediately pivot to Russia's 'atomic threats' and China's 'expanding arsenals,' implying a dangerous new era. However, the article neglects to mention the US's own extensive history of developing and testing nuclear weapons, having conducted 1,032
nuclear tests between 1945 and 1992, far more than any other nation. This was not 'decades of peace' but active development of the largest arsenal. Instead of genuinely examining the hypocrisy of a nation that pioneered nuclear testing now expressing shock when others follow suit, the media recycles Cold War narratives. The 'threat' somehow always originates from beyond US borders, never from the
primary architect of nuclear proliferation. One might wonder if 'upending' decades of policy sounds more alarming than 'continuing a tradition of global bellicosity, albeit after a brief hiatus.'